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November 05, 2009

Another Brick in the Wall?

This coming Monday marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and much hoopla has been planned: a grand public party at the Brandenburg Gate, and a new symbolic falling of the Wall to take place in the form of 1000 giant dominoes that will be toppled along the strip that had once divided East Germany from West. U2’s free on-site concert in Berlin to commemorate the occasion has given rise to some interesting outrage,though: a 2-meter high metal barrier has been installed around where the concert is to take place, in order to block viewing by those who missed out on obtaining any of the 10,000 free tickets. The unpleasant irony of the new barrier points to the contradictions and conflict always to be faced and addressed in any country and political climate when walls are addressed, be they mental or physical. It is in recognition of these contradictions that Semiotext(e) has just rereleased its infamous “German issue,” the 1982 installment of the journal that explored all the invisible walls of suspicion, rebellion, hatred, and hope within the cities of Berlin and New York, with the issue itself serving as a conflict-ridden communicative wall between the two. The German Issue evoked the wall through a horizontal division by means of a visual wall of photographs of the Berlin Wall intermingled with Wall Street. In the journal’s memorable and substantive dialogue between Semiotext(e) founder Sylvère Lotringer and the now deceased German dramatist and author Heiner Müller, Lotringer commented: “The wall of history is totally visible here. I’d rather see it that way than in people’s minds.” As the dominoes tumble this Monday, it is good, then, to reflect on the “Mauer im kopf” [the wall in the head] every political and social nation and body must still contend with. The Wall is down, but a new look at The German Issue raises the question as to whether the “German Issue” may today just be everyone’s issue.